Category: Product Design

Anything involving how a product was built to serve a certain need. This could include ways manufacturers make their products more feature-rich, more/less repairable, or how they make stupid decisions that cause the product to break more often.

Roundups

Working Macbooks Trashed Over Activation Lock

Barely used and fully functional Apple MacBooks, some as new as three years old, are being scrapped for parts and sent to landfills because of a security feature that makes…

February 1, 2023

by Paul Roberts - iFixit

Tech News

Sega Solved the Drift Issue Almost 30 Years Ago—Here’s How

With new hand-held consoles or peripheral controllers there is always the same question: “Will it drift”? But, if stick drift is so ubiquitous, why haven’t we solved it once and…

July 28, 2022

by Tobias Isakeit

Product Design

How Valve is Changing Game Console Design

Valve is as good as their word—we can now offer you parts and repair guides for the Steam Deck, and also parts for the Index VR headset. Update 5/23/2022: Many…

May 23, 2022

by Jeff Suovanen - iFixit

Roundups

Could We Lose The Right to Repair Our Cars? Repair Roundup, Week of May 9

A combination of lawsuits, new technology, and a conservative Supreme Court could undo the work of Massachusetts automotive right to repair law—which guarantees competition in auto repair nationally. Here’s how...

May 14, 2022

by Paul Roberts - iFixit

Product Design

Apple can upgrade individual iPhone SE parts, can you?

Apple is upgrading specs without wasting money on a whole new phone, why should you? Cameras get better, batteries get more efficient, and processors get speedier, and the only way…

May 4, 2022

by Sam Goldheart

Opinion

More PC Gaming Mice Should Follow ROG’s Repairable Switches

Computer mice, ever since the first wooden block from 1964, have always had a fundamental weakness. They have buttons, and the switches under those buttons can wear out. And yet,…

February 16, 2022

by Kevin Purdy

Tech News

iOS 15.2 Fixes iPhone 13’s Face ID Repair Trap (and Improves Its Repair Score)

We’ve tested it, and it’s true: iOS 15.2 stops Face ID from malfunctioning after you replace the screen on an iPhone 13, outside their official repair channels. We can’t really…

December 22, 2021

by Kevin Purdy

Tech News

Please Do Not Mount Your Phone to Your Motorcycle (Despite Apple’s Cool Ads)

Apple says two interesting, opposing things about the iPhone 13. One, an advertisement, says it’s the perfect phone for a dashing Spanish moto-scooter courier, guiding them to deliveries and meet-ups…

November 22, 2021

by Kevin Purdy

Tech News

Apple Says It Will Fix Face ID Failure on Third-Party Screen Repairs

Apple told The Verge today that it will release a software update to keep Face ID working after third-party and DIY screen replacements, days after iFixit’s report on the issue…

November 9, 2021

by Kevin Purdy

How Tech Works

The Chips You Find In iFixit Teardowns, Part 1: Power Management

It’s a time-consuming investigation, requiring intuition, experience, wonky Googling, esoteric apps, and spec sheet PDFs. It results in a single rainbow-colored, data-stuffed teardown step. It’s called Chip ID, and you…

August 31, 2021

by Arthur Shi - iFixit